Two new devices have entered the Google Play edition family. They are the LG G Pad 8.3 and the Sony Xperia Z Ultra. Curiously, though perhaps indicative of Sony’s commitment to provide a true Google experience, they’ve dropped the Xperia moniker in the Z Ultra.

Both devices have landed in the Google Play Store, packing the same hardware that we’ve seen in their retail variants, but devoid of their typical OEM skins that normally obfuscate the Android experience. They both pack Android 4.4 KitKat, although it is unclear if they will have the newly released 4.4.1 or 4.4.2 goods.

The G Pad 8.3 GPe comes in at a relatively wallet-friendly price of $350 USD. For this money, you get a device packing an 8.3″ 1080p display, 1.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600, 2 GB of RAM, a 4600 mAh battery, and an all-aluminum back coming in at just 8.3 mm.

If the G Pad 8.3 GPe is the world’s first Google Play edition tablet, the Z Ultra GPe is the world’s first Google Play edition phablet. The Z Ultra GPe will set your wallet back a bit more, at $650 USD. For that price, you get a 6.4″ 1080p display, a quad-core 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800, 2 GB of RAM, 7 bands of LTE, and a 3000 mAh battery.

Are you planning on making one of these devices yours, or would you rather buy the standard variant and load a GPe-derived ROM like what we’ve seen available for the other two GPe devices? Let us know in the comments below!

About Author

Will Verduzco is the Portal Administrator for the XDA-Developers Portal. He has been addicted to mobile technology since the HTC Wizard. But starting with the Nexus One, his gadget love affair shifted to Google's little green robot. He is also a Johns Hopkins University graduate in neuroscience and is now currently studying to become a physician.

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